
It’s been over three years that Kaizer* has used the Kanyamazane Clinic in Mbombela that’s a short walk from his home. He says without fail though each time he’s been there he’s met with nurses who mistreat him because of his sexual orientation.
Commonly people who are queer or trans, use drugs, or engage in sex work, face uncaring and even abusive treatment in our clinics. Ritshidze data reveal that only 39% of trans people, 37% of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), 27% of sex workers, and 14% of people who use drugs said that facility staff in Mpumalanga were actually nice to them. Many also reported that staff treated them worse after they found out they were a member of a key population.
Discrimination towards members of key populations is among ten key issues outlined in the fourth edition of a Ritshidze State of Health report in Mpumalanga that was launched this week. Below Kaizer goes on to explain the poor treatment he has received because of his sexual orientation.
“They are just homophobic at that clinic. The nurses will laugh at me, gossip about me and just discriminate. The service was bad to begin with but it just got worse ever since they found out that I’m gay,” he says.
Kaizer is not on ARVs or in need of being in the clinic on a regular basis, but his partner who is HIV positive relies on the same clinic to collect his ARVs. Kaizer says it stresses out his partner. “You can imagine what is going through your mind every time you have to go there, because you know how you are going to be treated,” he says.
Kaizer acknowledges that the nurses are good about giving him regular HIV tests but beyond that he says every other service is poor. He says even getting help for a cold is a horrible experience. He relates the story of how one time he had to ask for condoms and lubricants from a nurse because the container for these items, usually kept in an open public area, was empty. Instead of helping him the nurse he spoke to called her colleagues over to where he was then proceeded to make fun of him.
“They all gathered there and then they were saying things like ‘what kind of man is this’ and they pointed at me, made comments and then just laughed,” he remembers.
Kaizer says that more action needs to be taken to increase awareness of public healthcare user’s rights, to fight discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community, and to give nurses proper sensitivity training.
He says: “I’m not ashamed though; no amount of insults will drag me down, but it is still hard to have to face that attitude every time I’m there. I want to be able to give those nurses more information, because I know not everyone can stand up to them.”
Kaizer adds: “Sometimes I wonder if they are acting out of hatred for me. I try to tell myself that it’s just because they don’t know better, that’s why I want them to have more information, so that they do know better.”
* Name changed to protect identity
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